1997 10 23 Thursday No. :24297
UAE CHAMBERS TO BOYCOTT DOHA SUMMIT
The UAE Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, FCCI, is to boycott next month's Middle East and North Africa, MENA, Economic Summit which is being held in the Qatari capital of Doha, it was announced yesterday. A statement issued by the FCCI quoted a Chamber official as saying that UAE businessmen would not take part in the meeting, "which is being boycotted by several Arab countries."
President HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan announced several weeks ago that the UAE Government would not be taking part in the summit, which is one of a series planned to bring Israeli and Arab leaders together.
Government officials have made it plain that there must be political progress in the Middle East peace process, currently bogged down as a result of the intransigence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, before there can be further action on the normalisation of relations in other fields.
A number of other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Syria, have also announced that they will not be attending the Doha meeting, which is being strongly backed by the United States. Originally planned as a meeting at Heads of State or Government level, the summit has already been downgraded to Foreign Minister level. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
ENERGY CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON EFFECTS OF PRIVATISATION
The multiple effects of privatisation of the energy sector, particularly in the Gulf region which remains a pivotal player because of its huge oil and gas reserves, will be the focus of the two-day two-day-long 'Third Annual Energy Conference of the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research, ECSSR', beginning on Saturday.
"The conference will take a micro-focus by examining the impact of privatisation not only of the energy sector itself but also on the economies of the Arab Gulf countries as a whole, said Dr Abdullah Mograby, head of the Labour and Population Studies Department, at a press conference held yesterday in Abu Dhabi.
Director of Conferences and Exhibitions Ahmed Mohammed al Hameeri said the conference would focus on various aspects of privatisation of energy on the first day, while on the concluding day, strategies and methods of implementation by countries like India and Britain would be focused upon.
The conference, to be inaugurated by Director of the Presidential Court Sheikh Dhiyab bin Zayed al Nahyan, will also have a presentation on 'The Privatisation of the Water and Electricity Sectors in Abu Dhabi' by Abdullah A. al Ahbabi, head of the Privatisation Committee for the Water and Electricity sectors. 'The Reform and Privatisation of the Power Sector in Developing Countries: Implications, Pros and Cons for the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council, AGCC States' is another subject on the conference agenda.
According to the organisers, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, has been strongly advocating privatisation to improve the performance of state-run enterprises and to increase market competition and efficiency, especially in countries to which they have lent financial support. "However, in the Gulf and in the UAE, moves towards privatisation are being undertaken voluntarily by the Government to explore and evaluate options as part of efforts to develop human resources," said Dr al Mograby.
He added that the conference would help in understanding the existing market conditions throughout the production stages and be aware of the international experiences in this regard. "The tops will also prove a better understanding of the issues to improve the strategic positioning of energy commodities in this constantly changing market," the official said. Following conclusion of the conference, the papers discussed througout the two days are to be published by the ECSSR in the form of a book. (http://www.ecssr.as.ae) (The Emirates News; also carried in other papers.)
MOROCCAN OFFICIAL AMAZED BY UAE'S DEVELOPMENT
The new cultural co-operation protocol signed with the Minister of Information and Culture Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, will enhance cultural integration between the UAE and Morocco, Azizah Banani, Under Secretary of the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for Cultural Affairs, told Emirates News yesterday.
Dr Banani, who left the country after a three-day visit was taken up by the progress in Abu Dhabi in different fields. "Abu Dhabi is land of amazing development and all this is due to the great efforts by President HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan," she said.
During her visit, she focused on three main areas: social activities, especially concerning the handicapped, cultural issues and educational institutions. Dr Banani, who is also the Head of the Higher Commission for the Handicapped, visited the handicapped Centre.
"The centre is very well organised, handicapped children are getting the best of services and many activities are taking place, all of which shows the serious work and the high standard maintained by the institution and the support by the Government," she said.
The Under Secretary also visited some educational institutions. "I was astonished with the Emirates University's Library. It is very well equipped in terms of computer facilities and the large number of useful books and references," she commented.
Dr Banani visited, too, the UAE Women's Association, about which she said, "The efforts of the President's wife HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak to encourage the UAE women to be effective members of the community should bring glory to all Arab women," she said. (The Emirates News)
7000 HCT STUDENTS IN 1997 - 1998: 28-FOLD INCREASE SINCE 1988
In the decade since the establishment of the Higher Colleges of Technology, HCT, in 1988, the number of students has increased 28-fold to cross the 7,000 barrier in the present academic year 1997 -1998, according to Dr Sulaiman al Jassim, HCT Director of Community Relations and Manpower Development, speaking yesterday in Abu Dhabi.
The HCT students this year reached 7099 compared to only 239 students when they were established in 1988, Dr al Jassim said in a statement marking the end of the student count for the present year, for which the HCT received 4329 applications out of which 3512 were approved, he added.
Dr al Jassim said that among the total number of HCT students this year, there are 2809 males and 4290 females, compared with a total of 5149 students in the 1996 - 1997 academic year, of which 2122 were males and 3027 females. "One of the major developments this year is the registration of 42 students for the first Bachelor degree ever offered by the HCT - Applied Science, Business Administration," al Jassim said. Of the 42, there are 12 students at Dubai Men's College, DMC, 10 at the Abu Dhabi Women's College, ADWC, and 20 at the Dubai Women's College, DWC.
With the registration of the new students this year, the number of Certificate and Diploma Programme students reached 3822, of which 1632 are males and 2190 are females. The Higher Diploma students totalled 1923, with 736 being males and 1187 being females, while the number of Foundation students numbered 1354, comprising 429 males and 925 females.
As from this year, there are now nine colleges within the HCT network. The students population in each is as follows: 508 in Al Ain Men's College, 973 in Al Ain Women's College, 771 in the Abu Dhabi Men's College, ADMC, 889 in the ADWC, 1228 in the DMC, 1593in the DWC, 209 in the Ras al Khaimah Men's College, 536 in the Ras al Khaimah Women's College and 311 in the Sharjah Women's College, SWC.
Since 1988, student numbers have increased annually from 239 in 1988 - 1989, 653 in 1989-1990 and 910 in 1990 -1991. The following year 1991 -1992, student enrollments passed the 1,000 mark, and reached 1137. The figures continued to rise such that there were 1215 students in the following year 1991 - 1992 and 1734 in 1993 - 1994.
In the academic year 1994 -1995, the number of students enrolled in the HCT passed the 2,000 mark with 2324. As a direct result of introducing the Certificate and Diploma Programmes, enrollments almost doubled so that some 4176 students took their places in the six colleges by then established.
Dr al Jassim expressed gratitude and thanks to the UAE's President HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan for his continued support of the HCT. He attributed the achievements fulfilled by the HCT to the wise leadership of the Chancellor of the HCT Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al Nahyan, Minister of Education and Scientific Research. (An HCT Press Release and The Emirates)
RESTORATION OF FUJAIRAH CASTLE BEGINS
Restoration of one of the UAE's best-known ancient monuments, the castle at Fujairah, has now commenced, according to the Director of Fujairah's Archaeological Department, Ahmed Khalifa al Shamsi. Work is expected to take about two years. The castle stands on a knoll on the coastal plain at Fujairah, surrounded by the mud-brick houses of the old Fujairah village.
Both were abandoned around 30 years ago but have long been designated for eventual restoration as the centrepiece of a heritage display. The restoration work is being undertaken by an Italian consultant working with the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, who has also carried out similar restoration of old forts and castles in Oman, using traditional materials and old craftsmen.
Built largely of mud-brick, although with its walls having a base of boulders, Fujairah Castle has suffered substantially in recent years as a result of collapses caused by rainfall. One wall of the castle is also threatened by the weight of a breezeblock structure that was built to replace a tower that was destroyed during a British naval bombardment in the 1920s, the last occasion on which a British gunboat fired in anger upon UAE soil.
The castle is believed to have been built around 400 years ago by an early leader of Fujairah's Al Shariquiyin tribe. The knoll on which it stands, however, may well have been fortified much earlier: pottery from the local Iron Age, from around 1,300 BC to 300 BC has been found in the area.
Restoration of the castle, once the seat of Government of his forbears, has long been an ambition of Fujairah Ruler and Supreme Council Member HH Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed al Sharqi. Sheikh Hamad, who takes a keen interest in the heritage and archaeology of his Emirate, has also instructed the Department of Archaeology to plan for the restoration of a number of other old fortified buildings.
One likely candidate is the old palace in Wadi Hail, just outside Fujairah, once the residence of a cadet branch of the ruling family. Other important forts and castles in the emirate include one at Bithna, commanding Wadi Ham, and one at Awhalla, in southern Fujairah, which is built on part of the site of the largest Iron Age fortress yet identified in the UAE. (The Emirates News)